Lyle Ritz began his music career as a college student working at the Southern California Music Company in Los Angeles, CA. Responsible for the small goods department, he demonstrated instruments including the ukulele, which was being popularized by Arthur Godfrey at the time. He purchased a Gibson tenor ukulele for his own use. Drafted into the US Army during the Korean War, Ritz played tuba in the United States Army Band. Stationed at Fort Ord, Ritz learned to play the acoustic bass. While on leave, Ritz visited the Music Company and played a few tunes on the ukulele at the urging of his colleagues. Unbeknownst to him, Guitarist Barney Kessel, a talent scout for Verve Records, was standing there.
After hearing Ritz play, Kessel approached him and made the connection that resulted in his first commercial records.
Verve released Ritz's first ukulele record, How About Uke?, in 1957. 50th State Jazz was released in 1959. Both records became very popular in Hawaii and started a wave of new ukulele players. However, the records had only limited popularity on the mainland.
To support himself, Ritz abandoned the ukulele and became a session musician on the bass guitar. He joined the Wrecking Crew, a popular group of studio musicians in the Los Angeles recording industry. Ritz compiled over 5,000 credits including such notable tracks as Herb Alpert's "Taste of Honey", The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", and the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations". Other notable recording artists he backed up include Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, Herb Ohta, Dean Martin, and Linda Ronstadt. He also played bass on television soundtracks including The Rockford Files, Name That Tune, and Kojak.
In 1979 Ritz was hired to play the ukulele in place of Steve Martin when Martin was shown playing in The Jerk. In 1980, Ritz was a musician playing bass on Face the Music a game show centered on musical puzzles.
Roy Sakuma, a fellow ukulele player and record producer, looked up Ritz in 1985 and brought him to Hawaii for the Annual Ukulele Festival. Ritz had no idea how popular his Verve records still were in Hawaii, but he participated at the festival during the next three years. In 1988 he decided it was time to retire from the circuit, but he continued to play; his third album, Time, was released by Roy Sakuma Records the same year. In 1999, Jim Beloff, founder of Flea Market Music, put together the annual UKEtopia concert in California. Among the notable events was Bill Tapia and Ritz trading jazz licks in an impromptu cutting contest.
In 2005, Ritz purchased an Apple laptop and a copy of GarageBand, software used to make home recordings. After a half year's work, he completed a new solo album, No Frills, released in 2006. He recorded the bass track using a synthesizer so he could concentrate on the jazz ukulele. Ritz was inducted to the Ukulele Hall of Fame in 2007. His citation reads in part: "Ritz will always be known as the brilliant pioneer in the area of ukulele jazz."
Discography
1957 How About Uke? - Verve Records
1959 50th State Jazz - Universal Distribution
1998 Time - MVM
2001 Ukulele Duo - JVC Victor
2004 How About Uke? (Re-Release) -Verve Records
2005 A Night of Ukulele Jazz Live at McCabe's - Flea Market Music
2006 No Frills - Flea Market Music
2007 I Wish You Love - CD Baby / PDX Uke
2007 Becky & Lyle Bossa Style - CD Baby
Lulu's Back In Town
Lyle Ritz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where'd she put my razor blade?
She mislaid it, I'm afraid,
It's gotta be foun'!
Ask her when she cleaned my room
What she did with my perfume;
I just can't lose it,
I've gotta use it,
Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed,
Gotta sew a button on my vest,
'Cause tonight I've gotta look my best,
Lulu's back in town.
Gotta get a half a buck somewhere,
Gotta shine my shoes and slick my hair,
Gotta get myself a boutonniere,
Lulu's back in town.
You can tell all my pets,
All my Harlem coquettes;
Mister Otis regrets
That he won't be aroun'.
You can tell the mailman not to call,
I ain't comin' home until the fall,
And I might not get back home at all,
Lulu's back in town.
You can bet I've got it bad,
Best complaint I've ever had;
We'll be stepping out tonight,
An' struttin', an' how.
We're in for the swellest time,
Finish up without a dime;
Look here, you fellers,
I'll make you jealous,
My Lulu, she's a wow.
Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed,
Gotta sew a button on my vest,
'Cause tonight I've gotta look my best,
Lulu's back in town.
Gotta get a half a buck somewhere,
Gotta shine my shoes and slick my hair,
Gotta get myself a boutonniere,
Lulu's back in town.
You can tell all my pets,
All my blondes and brunettes;
Mister Otis regrets
That he won't be aroun'.
You can tell the mailman not to call,
I ain't comin' home until the fall,
And I might not get back home at all,
Lulu's back in town.
The lyrics of Lyle Ritz's "Lulu's Back In Town" are about a man who is excited to see his beloved Lulu again, and he has to get ready for her arrival. The first two verses are about the man getting himself cleaned up and looking presentable for Lulu. He is worried because his razor blade and perfume are misplaced, and he needs them to impress her. He also needs to get his tuxedo pressed, sew on a button on his vest, shine his shoes, and slick back his hair. All of this preparation is because he wants to look his best for Lulu's return.
The next verse talks about his excitement to be out with Lulu. He knows they are going to have a great time and he talks about how they will finish the night with nothing in their pockets. He also mentions that he'll make others jealous of his wonderful Lulu. The last verse emphasizes how much Lulu means to him. He's willing to abandon his responsibilities and stay out all fall if it means he can spend more time with her.
Overall, the song portrays the singer's love and excitement for Lulu's return, and how much he is willing to do to show her how much he cares.
Line by Line Meaning
Where's that careless chambermaid?
I am looking for the chambermaid who misplaced my razor blade
Where'd she put my razor blade?
I am looking for my razor blade that the chambermaid misplaced
She mislaid it, I'm afraid, It's gotta be foun'!
I am worried that the chambermaid misplaced my razor blade, and I need to find it
Ask her when she cleaned my room What she did with my perfume;
When you see the chambermaid who cleaned my room, please ask her where she kept my perfume
I just can't lose it, I've gotta use it, 'Cause Lulu's back in town.
I need to find and use my perfume since Lulu is in town, and I do not want to disappoint her
Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed, Gotta sew a button on my vest, 'Cause tonight I've gotta look my best, Lulu's back in town.
I need to look my best tonight by pressing my old tuxedo and fixing my vest because Lulu is in town
Gotta get a half a buck somewhere, Gotta shine my shoes and slick my hair, Gotta get myself a boutonniere, Lulu's back in town.
I need to find some money, shine my shoes, and fix my hair by getting a boutonniere now that Lulu is back in town
You can tell all my pets, All my Harlem coquettes; Mister Otis regrets That he won't be aroun'.
Please inform everyone that I usually associate with, especially the ones in Harlem, that I will not be around since Lulu is in town
You can tell the mailman not to call, I ain't comin' home until the fall, And I might not get back home at all, Lulu's back in town.
Please let the mailman know that I will not come home until autumn, and I might not even make it home since Lulu is in town
You can bet I've got it bad, Best complaint I've ever had; We'll be stepping out tonight, An' struttin', an' how.
I admit that I cannot resist Lulu's charm, and we will be going out tonight to show off to everyone
We're in for the swellest time, Finish up without a dime; Look here, you fellers, I'll make you jealous, My Lulu, she's a wow.
We are going to have a great time even if we are out of money, and I will make everyone jealous because Lulu is awesome
You can tell all my pets, All my blondes and brunettes; Mister Otis regrets That he won't be aroun'.
Please let everyone I know, even the blondes and brunettes, that I will not be around since Lulu is in town
You can tell the mailman not to call, I ain't comin' home until the fall, And I might not get back home at all, Lulu's back in town.
Please let the mailman know that I will not come home until autumn, and I might not even make it home since Lulu is in town
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL DUBIN, HARRY WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind